February 2014 – icespike.com

[AnonymousParticipant]

Website: http://www.icespike.com/

Description: ICESPIKE is an innovative concept in traction that was developed by the Michalak family as a solution to the limitations of traditional strap-on traction devices. Keith from Icespike states, “As a family of year-round outdoor enthusiasts, we were frustrated by injuries on treacherous conditions and the difficulties of many traction systems. Most were too heavy and uncomfortable, needing frequent adjustments, having to be installed/removed at every use, and not versatile for various terrains.

Drawing inspiration from the spikes used on motorcycle tires for ice racing, we enlisted the aid of a family member who is a metallurgical engineer to create a spike to be installed directly on the sole of shoes or boots. It was specifically designed to withstand extreme abuse, provide exceptional surface penetration and stability, self-cleaning of debris, be effective from snow and ice to dry pavement and trails, yet easily removed with no damage to the integrity of the sole. The result was ICESPIKE, a system of spikes and an installation tool that embodies our motto: Simple, Effective, Lightweight, Durable. From our first success being named by Outdoor Magazine’s 2010 “Gear of the Year” to our continuing customer feedback, we know that ICESPIKE is the most useful, versatile and economical traction device on the market today.

The original goal was to be strictly an internet business, although we have further expanded to retail sales as demand determined. However, the internet is the bulk of our sales, and has extended our reach to international markets. The design and implementation of the website is an ongoing effort.

Technologies Used: Keith continued, “Initially, we had no idea of the technologies or the people that we would need to put it all together. The design for our logo was created by a good friend, retired from the graphic arts business. His daughter was a website designer, meisterdesigngroup.com, from Cincinnati. We began the hosting with a budget host and discovered shortly before the launch that their shopping cart did not support international sales.

We then switched to a host which utilized ShopSite. We did launch with them but had many problems with the cart crashing and not working during our busiest times. I got in touch with ShopSite and talked to a developer there (Lauren Hills). She suggested we switch to LexiConn and in the year and a half with LexiConn, we have had no problems, and questions that I have had have been answered quickly. Lauren Hills has her own design company now, laurenhillsdesign.com, and has been invaluable with further website design improvement. Other companies have helped along the way and we thank them all for sharing their knowledge.”

Advice / Tips: Keith finished, “Patience is a virtue. The thought of a business going live and raking in the big bucks is not a reality. It is a constant fight to stay ahead or just keep pace with the competition. Our site right now needs some serious SEO work in the spring. We have found that consistency, like in any business, is extremely important. You can have a great product but if you aren’t consistent in your presentation to your customers, internet or retail, there are a hundred other products ready to take your place. Most important, we personally confirm each order and ask for customer feedback. Our customers appreciate the personal attention.”

[Author]

Posts